Blurred Justice
by Tashii Cat
Summary: When faced with someone who could endanger someone's life and the lives of others, how far will one go to make sure no-one else will ever get hurt? Even if one has to hide the truth in order to protect others from seeing the monster they have become?
1. Chapter 1

For a city in the dark, Acmetropolis still buzzed with some activity. The skyscrapers and buildings illuminated in the night with some vehicles coursing on the roads. Despite being less active at night than during the day, the noise polluted the air. The quietest place in Acemtropolis had to be in the park. The only thing that could be heard there was the rustling of the leaves in the trees and echoes of foot steps from an anthromorphic roadrunner. The bird delved into the front pocket of his dark blue jeans and pulled out a mobile phone, glancing at the time. 10.38pm.

"Damn!" He puffed. "I'm going to be late!" He sped up into a light jog from his power-walking.

"This is one of those times when I need Rev's speed. Then I wouldn't be so late." He thought to himself as he ignored the hooting from the owls. The roadrunner carried on jogging until he heard another set of footsteps behind him. He kept going regardless until he saw three figures blocking his path. Undeterred by them, he planned to go around them until they marched towards him. The roadrunner skidded to a stop and spun around only to find another two figures approaching him from behind. The bird frantically spun his head around, desperately searching for a way out as the gang closed in on him. Once they stepped into the light from the park lamps, their hoods kept their faces in the dark.

"You must be that Rip guy she was talking about." The leader in the blue hoodie grinned menacingly.

In desperation, Rip hoped he inherited the speed genes from his parents and charged towards the leader in hopes of knocking him over. Another boy in a black hood stepped forward and whammed his fist into Rip's stomach. The roadrunner flew all too easily due to his skinny figure and crashed in a heap on the floor. As Rip groaned and looked up, the five hooded figures loomed over him.

"Now let's see if we can clip the wings on this bird," the leader chuckled.

* * *

><p><em>"And in our top news today, a twenty-two year old woman is being held trial for man-slaughter of a man who attempted to sexually assault her." The television announced. "For legal reasons, she her identity cannot be revealed but the police was called at Forne Street at quadrant six, after she told them that she thought she killed a man. She told them that he grabbed her from behind and tried to sexually assault her before she pushed him out onto the road where he was ran over by a truck. If she is found guilty today, she could serve a sentence of up to fifteen years."<em>

"It's about time someone like her is bought to justice." Duck said as he watched the news from the purple couch.

"But that man tried to rape her, Duck," Lexi frowned behind the sofa Duck sat on.

"Sure the guy got what he deserved but you can't overlook the fact that she killed him."

"She tried to push him away so he wouldn't attack her. How was she supposed to know that a truck was going to hit him?"

"Well maybe if she pushed him away on the pavement instead of the road, maybe he wouldn't have gotten killed."

"Yeah, like she had the time to look around where she was before pushing him while he was attacking her."

"Look, all I'm saying is she shouldn't have resorted to pushing him out onto the road."

"Well maybe she might have saved another woman or girl like herself from being raped by a pervert like him. She protected herself from harm."

Meanwhile, Tech tried blocked the shouting from the living room as he sipped his mug of coffee. He was reading the same story about the manslaughter from the holographic newspaper. In his mind, he debated which verdict the woman deserved. He considered all the reasons as to why she should be found guilty or not, but he knew that this sort of debate bought up a lot more questions for every answer he gave. The coyote took another gulp from his mug when he heard Ace pass him.

"Hey Tech," The rabbit stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Anything interestin' happen today?"

Tech switched off the holographic newspaper player and turned to the leader.

"Apart from the story about that woman standing trial for the manslaughter of a guy who tried to attack her, there's nothing worth talking about."

"Oh yeah," Ace sighed gravely. "Dat man should never have attacked her like dat. She didn't deserve to be assaulted."

"So you think she shouldn't be guilty?" Tech raised his eyebrows. He knew Ace had some strong opinions on many subjects but he thought of him as having a balanced opinion.

"I just think women shouldn't be treated like objects regardless of how they're portrayed." Ace said. "But hopefully, the jury will see that and not label her as a killer."

"I suppose," Tech finished his mug off until they both heard the hissing of the door opening.

"Welcome back Rev Runner," A smooth yet mechanical female voice said as the roadrunner dragged his feet into the living room, with a sub-dued expression on his face.

"Hey Rev. Where have you been?" Ace asked. Rev snapped out of his gloomy state and glance at the rabbit and coyote staring at him.

"Oh. Nowhere in particular." He smiled. "I just thought I'd take a walk and get some fresh air. I'm just going to rest in my room… if that's okay."

"Of course," Ace nodded as Rev gave another weak smile before ambling down the hallway and vanishing into his bedroom.

"I don't know about you Tech, but something's definitely wrong with Rev." Ace commented.

"I'll see if I can talk to him later on," Tech sighed. "He normally spills the beans when I ask him what's wrong."

"I'll leave that to you then," Ace said leaving Tech to put the mug in the sink. The coyote watched the leader walk towards his room and then turned back to Rev's bedroom door. For the past week, Rev had been feeling down even if he tried not to make it obvious. Rev has been known to be a terrible liar in front of the team and he wasn't very good at hiding the truth too. In fact, everything had been normal until Rev received that phone call. A week ago, he received a call that completely changed his mood. Since then, he'd been going out more often and coming back to the headquarters more sub-dued. He was a lot calmer but at the same time he wasn't any happier. This wasn't the Rev Runner Tech knew.

At dinner time, everyone but Rev ate their dinner and talked at the table. Rev didn't even attend dinner. When the other loonatics asked if he was coming, he rejected their offer without opening the door. Tech had to sit through dinner with a troubled mind. If Rev wasn't even going to eat at the table then something was definitely wrong. After all, the coyote knew one that Rev wouldn't eat if he was upset by something. He decided now was the time to talk to the bird.

After dinner had finished, Tech walked up to the roadrunner's bedroom door and tapped on it.

"Rev? Are you alright in there?" Tech waited for a response. After receiving nothing for a few seconds, he slid the door open himself and entered the bedroom. He could see the roadrunner on the bed hugging his knees. Tech wasn't even sure whether he could sense his presence as his back was turned. He must have known because his GPS would have sensed him straight away. The coyote slowly approached Rev.

"Hey, you okay?" Tech said sitting himself next to Rev on the bed.

The roadrunner glanced up to Tech for a moment before breaking eye contact again. Now the coyote started to get worried. This was the quietest Rev has ever been since they started working together. Tech's fingers curled on his knees.

"Rev, what's been going on with you? Lately you've been really down and… that's not like you." Tech said. Rev just buried his head into his arms which made Tech sigh.

"Okay, let me ask a different question. What was that phone call last week about? Can you tell me that?"

Rev lifted his head up and exhaled. His fingers curled on his arms. He knew he couldn't hide it from Tech anymore.

"It was… about Rip." He finally spoke.

"Your brother?"

"A week ago, my parents called me and said that Rip is in comatose in the hospital." Rev continued. "He was found beaten up in the park." Tech looked away.

"I… I'm sorry." He said flatly. "Has the police been called in yet?" Rev nodded his head.

"They have. And I gave them the name of the person who organised this."

"What?" Tech's eyebrows lifted. "You know who the culprit is?"

"I'm sure of it," Rev placed his feet back onto the floor. "It was Rip's ex-girl friend. I know she planned it. I saw the message on Rip's phone."

"What message?"

"There was a message from her saying that she wanted to meet him at her house and that going through the park would get him there quicker." Rev's clenched his hands into fists. "I know she hired some guys to do him in."

"Then has she been arrested?" Tech asked. Rev shook his head.

"No. And as long as she keeps denying it, she'll never be." His voice started to shake and started shouting. "She's always been like that though! She only liked Rip because he came from a rich family! So she got him to spend money on her without repaying him or offering to get him anything! And when she found that she had drained him dry, she just dumps him like he was a piece of trash! She's a spiteful witch that doesn't care for anyone else except for herself! She needs to be taught a lesson! I don't care who does it but she can't get away with what she's done to the family!"

When Rev finally stopped ranting, Tech sat there with his eyes wide open in shock. Never had he'd seen Rev so angry since Rip got possessed by the bio-tech creature. And even then it was tamer than what Rev was feeling now. The coyote could see some tears well up on the corner of the roadrunner's eyes.

"So, how is he today?" Tech asked. Rev looked down.

"He's doing well. Still in comatose though. Tech?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you not tell the others about this?" Rev mumbled. "I don't want them to be worried about me."

"I don't know Rev." Tech said. "I think they're already worried about you. I think you should just tell them what's going on."

Rev reluctantly stayed silent and coiled his hands on his knees.

"If you don't mind… I'd like to be alone please." He murmured.

Tech gave him a weak smile before striding towards the door and pausing.

"Well if you want to talk to me about anything, just ask okay?"

Rev nodded. The coyote slid the door open and exited from it. Tech only took a few steps before looking back at Rev's bedroom door. Giving one last sigh, Tech slid the door open to his lab. That would most likely put his mind off his troubles for a while.


	2. Chapter 2

"Tech, you read a lot of mystery novels right?" Rev chirped cheerfully, making the coyote jolt in his seat and almost dropping his screw driver and a metal plate. He found it odd that his friend managed to cheer up so quickly over something that seemed to have really mattered to him. He spun around in his chair and saw a smile spread across the bird's face.

"Rev's acting in complete contrast to how he felt yesterday," Tech thought. Not that he was too worried because he definitely preferred him being happy despite it meant he was twice as annoying. Tech placed the screw driver and the metal plate on the table behind him.

"Mystery novels? Well, I've only read a couple so-"

"Well I was wondering which of the crimes you've read were best executed?" Rev cut in.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean which crime was committed so well, that the criminal managed to get away with it without the detective knowing?"

"What's this for Rev?"

"Oh, it's for Rip's English paper and he needed help on the subject on the common components that the top ten greatest mystery writers used to have their stories as successful as they are today. Only, he's unconscious in hospital so he can't do the paper but I thought I could help him by gathering some information so when he wakes up, all he has to do is type the paper up and hand it in."

Tech managed to gather the basics of the whirlwind of words the roadrunner gushed out and placed his left elbow on the arm of his chair.

"Well I can't really say for certain since I haven't read enough mystery novels to tell you. But Lexi might know; she reads a lot of that sort of thing. I'm sure she can answer that question better than I can." Tech finally spoke.

"Oh gee, Tech thanks a bunch! I know you didn't exactly answer my question but thanks anyway!" Rev jabbered on and left the room as quickly as he had entered before Tech could stop him. The coyote paused for a moment before turning back to his invention he was working on. Tech knew that whenever he hung out with Rev, everything that happened seemed like a blur. But the conversation that seemed to have ended seconds ago occurred faster than what he was used to. It was as if Rev drank six cups of coffee, with at least six to seven table spoons of sugar in each cup and was literally bouncing off the walls. When Tech thought about it more, maybe it was Rev's unusual way of seeing the best in a situation that looked bleak.

"At least he's cheered up." The coyote thought once again as he continued to tinker with the gadget he finally placed in his hand.

!

"You wanna know what makes a mystery novel?" Lexi lay across the couch with Rev eagerly waiting with a note-pad and pencil in his hands.

"Yeah," The road runner nodded enthusiastically. "And which of the crimes you do think was best executed like the detective never found out who the criminal was."

"Well there wasn't any crimes where the detective had no idea who done it," Lexi placed her index finger on her chin. "But there are stories where the detective finds out who the criminal was but lets them get away. Agatha Christie's books, as old as they are, are still considered some of the great mystery books in the world. They had lots of intricate tricks that were supposed to lead the detective off in the wrong direction but they'd soon figure it out in the end. The trick in the 'Murder at the Orient Express' was good but you'll have to read it your-"

"So there aren't there any mystery novels where the criminal gets away with the crime and the detectives are left baffled by the mystery?" Rev asked.

"Rev, a mystery book like that will never sell. Mystery stories are all about being in the detective's shoes and going through the process of elimination, until there's only one conclusion left. There has never been a story where the detective doesn't know who did it."

"Oh… right." Rev finished scribbling down the notes on his notepad. "Thanks Lexi. You've been a great help."

"So what are all these questions for Rev?" The rabbit peered down at the book in her hands. "Are you writing a novel or something?"

By the time she looked back up expecting the roadrunner to answer her question, he vanished without a trace. Lexi didn't expect him to disappear without giving her an explanation but she shrugged her shoulders and continued reading.

!

Tech yawned as he made his way to his room. It was very late into the evening which meant everyone else would be asleep at the present. The coyote gazed at his watch to check how late he's been up.

12:13am.

"I definitely stay up way too late." Tech muttered quietly as he finally arrived at the door to his bedroom. The door hissed open as he entered inside. Before the doors closed behind him, his ears pricked up. He could have sworn he heard a sound after the door hissed. The coyote shot his head out of the door and surveyed the dark room for movement. Nothing responded. Tech shook his head and assumed it was his imagination as he slipped back into his bedroom.

The next time Tech woke up was 7am. He sat up on his bed wondering whether the noise he heard last night was real or something that aroused in his mind. He knew he stayed up all night because he lost track of the time whilst watching 'Extreme Engineering'. He was drowsy when he went to bed so it was possible that he was deprived of sleep. But on the other hand, he did hear something. He just couldn't point his finger to what or who made the noise.

"It could be Slam," Tech thought. Slam had always been one to snack in the darkest of nights when everyone else was asleep. But if it was Slam, wouldn't he have revealed himself when Tech did look. Well he didn't ask if anybody was there so they must have waited until Tech went back into his room. Either way, Tech was no closer to finding the culprit so he left it at that. After he took a shower and changed into his uniform, the coyote took his usual cup of coffee to the table and sat down with it. He gazed at the hologram of news articles until he spotted one that caught his eye. He selected it enlarged the article. His eyebrows rose as he read the headline.

**Boy Goes Missing in the Night.**


End file.
